This downturn should ring alarm

by Dr. Ming Wang, MD, PhD

Wang Vision 3D Cataract and LASIK Center, Nashville, Tennessee

America is going through an economic downturn not seen since the
Great Depression. Confidence in the
U.S. economy, as well as the economic
relationship between the U.S. and
many countries in the world today, has
been at a low point.

In addition to analyzing the economic figures and superficially apparent situation, we need to ask ourselves
a key question: Why is America having
so many problems in world politics,
international affairs, and its economic
and trade relationships with so many
other countries? In my personal opinion, the deeper, fundamental underlying reason for this downturn in America’s status in international affairs and
the economy has much to do with the
imposing and less sensitive attitude
that we have demonstrated towards
other countries and cultures in the past
decade and the complacency and lack
of curiosity that we have developed
from America’s success in the last century.

When two people interact and communicate with one another, the key
prerequisite is that each person needs
to respect the other person as a human
being. No matter how correct someone’s point of view is, if that person
imposes his/her view on others, he/she
will not be heard, considered… or liked!
The founding fathers of America
demonstrated a fundamental understanding of this need to be sensitive
and respect that each and every human
being has different needs and that we
must embrace and support not only
our own needs but those of our fellow
countrymen. By doing so, we can then
set our country on the path of democracy, freedom and respect of human
rights; with a constitution that recognizes the equality of all human beings.

When I came to America in the
1980s as a penniless student, one of the
expressions that made the deepest
impression on me was “I may not agree
with what you are saying, but I will
defend with my life your right to say
it.’’

The 20th century has been an American century. From the early 1900s,
when America was at the beginning of
industrialization with the rolling out of
Model T automobiles from Detroit,
to the 1990s, when America was the
only superpower still standing, the 20th
century has been significant for America. The reason for this is that our people adhered to this principle of respecting equal human rights for all people.

The turn of century brought many
negative elements into America’s mentality, characteristics commonly seen in
a strong and successful country—complacency, a lack of curiosity, and worst
of all, the development of an imposing
attitude toward other countries, people
and culture.

The collapse of the Roman Empire
and the downturn of the Qing Dynasty
are also attributed to these same
destructive qualities. We sometimes
forget that America became strong and
successful because its people worked
hard and were diligent, humble and
more willing to work with others.

The U.S. can regain its strength only
if Americans will redevelop the virtues
that made us flourish in the first place,
i.e., humility, hard work and willingness to learn from others. The world is
a fast developing place, and America
will need these traits to excel, or else
other countries will catch up and even
surpass us.

If we become arrogant and declare
self-proclaimed superiority, then other
countries, who are so diligently doing
their homework and have learned from
us over the years, will become stronger
and more prosperous, and will become
less tolerant to our lack of compassion
and respect for them. The rest of the
world no longer depends as much on
America as it is quickly catching up in
many areas!

The glaring economic problems in
America today should serve as an
important alarm and reminder to all of
us that a country and culture can
become successful when it is humble,
hard working and more willing to coexist with others.

A country or dynasty, no matter how
strong and successful it is, can start its
downturn when it takes its own success for granted, becomes more selfimportant and less receptive and considerate of others, and develops a habit
of imposing its will on others. In the
end, interaction between two countries
or cultures is just like the interaction
between two human beings, that is, a
fundamental requirement in effective
communication is that one person
needs to respect another person as a
human being, and when this occurs,
everything else after that falls into
place.

If we consistently remind ourselves
of this essential point of human interaction, America can again become strong,
both economically and politically. If we
truly desire to solve the problems
America is currently facing, we have to
change ourselves by replacing complacency, forcefulness and lack of respect
toward others into humility, motivation
and willingness to learn from
others. By doing this, we will make it
through this difficult period.

Let’s look back in time and remind
ourselves of what made this country
strong and avoid doing the things that
have destroyed that prosperity and
have brought about our country’s
downturn.

The fact that respecting other human
beings brings about fruitful results
is not a new concept, and we know this
because it was clearly and powerfully
expressed over 200 years ago by our founding fathers.

Ming Wang, M.D., Ph.D., is president, Tennessee
Chinese Chamber of Commerce,
clinical professor of ophthalmology of
University of Tennessee, and director, Wang Vision 3D Cataract and LASIK Center. He may be reached at www.wangvisioninstitute.com

This site is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be medical advice. If you would like professional medical advice about any
laser eye surgery procedure, pleaseschedule an appointment or attend our next Free LASIK and Cataract Seminar in Nashville, Tennessee.